Breathtaker

Chapter 5

Okay, this is it. Chapter 5. Thanks for your patience, I hope you like it!  Chapter 6 will be up within the next week. Enjoy! :)

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Marilyn, Leigh and I sit cross legged on my cream carpet while Rosetta is stretched out on my bed, busy reading some girly magazine. The book is lying in front of us, no one really having the urge to touch it.

After a while Leigh sighs and picks up the piece of paper. It suddenly looks very small. Her eyes scan it, but no one can make sense of the dots and lines. It obviously means something and has a purpose, but we just can’t figure out what it is.

“So what exactly is this?” Marilyn asks, pointing to the page in the book.

I shrug. “Looks like some kind of spell, and according to the heading at the top of the page, a ‘Sleep Spell’.”

I pull the book closer to me, reading the words out loud for all of them to hear.

“Gods of power, Gods of might. Take my pain, take my fright. I just want to sleep tonight, let it be. Let it be.” I look up at my friends, who don’t seem to completely understandthe spell. “At the bottom it says, repeat three times.”

“So? What does it mean?” Rosetta asked, clearly irritated by the whole situation. I bet she had other plans for tonight. “Why would the Carters have a dumb book like this, with a little, crumbled piece of paper, marking a strange sleep spell? It doesn’t make sense. They weren’t witches, otherwise the camp leader would’ve told us.”

“Maybe they didn’t know.” I suggest. “The witch theory would explain how the father managed to change the girl.”

“But according to the camp leader, he only managed to the do that because he had medical experience... Not because he was a witch.”Leigh points out.

None of us argue with her, as we all remember the camp leader saying those exact words.

“Then how do you explain the book?” Marilyn asks quietly, her eyes puzzled.

“I don’t know.” Leigh says, once again examining the piece of crumbled paper.

I look at her face for a moment, trying to figure out what she was thinking. It was serious, her eyes not leaving the paper. Then a sparkle suddenly appears in her hazel eyes and it within in minutes, it seems as if she is alive again.

“Katie, do you have your laptop and a pencil close by?” She asks, her eyes glistening with untold knowledge. “I need to borrow it for a moment.”

I nod, standing and up and fetching mylaptop, while Rosetta hands her the pencil she asked for. As soon as she has everything she needs, she starts connecting the dots and lines in a way that we can’t even begin to understand.None of us have any idea where she’s going with this, but by now we knew better than to ask her about it. It’s better to just leave her and let her do her thing.

Marilyn and I go to join Rosetta on the bed, while Leigh opens up Google and her fingers do a little dance on the keyboard. Rosetta resumes reading, Marilyn stares out the window and I intensely watch Leigh, curious about her finding.

After what felt like an hour, Leigh finally puts the laptop aside and glances up at us.

“It’s a map.” She says, walking closer and showing us the outlines of buildings, roads and landscapes.

“That group of lines,” She points to a series of line sin the right corner of the paper, “Looked familiar, and when I analyzed it, I realized it was contour lines. You know; the kind you use in Geography. And it wasn’t difficult connecting the rest, there’s a visible pattern. And in the end, all the lines and dots created this.”

Marilyn smiles and looks at Leigh in admiration. “Leigh, that’s amazing.”

Leigh glows, her eyes bright with pride. She strives for accomplishments like this.

“But wait,” Rosetta says, sitting up straight. “A map for what? What is this place?” She takes the paper from Leigh’s hands, her eyes running up and down the page.

“It looks like a farm.” Leigh says, sitting down next to me, while looking at Rosetta. “The few, large buildings can represent barns and the big, empty patches, can represent harvest fields. Plus, there are hardly any roads, which once again, is an element of farms. There’s a wide river running down the border of the farm. It provides natural water for the animals. A large river like that won’t be wasted, so it’s most likely to be used by farmers in the area.”

The three of us stare at her for a while, dazed by the explanation.

My eyes closely examine the map for what must be the hundredth time, and I can see that Leigh's words make sense. Though the longer I stare at it, the more I think I've seen this particular farm before. The river that runs right through the middle, the woods and mountains that surrounds it.

'Do you have any idea what the farm's name is?' I ask Leigh.

She doesn’t answer me, but her eyes meet mine and I instantly know she’s thinking the same thing.

'It's the same farm we stayed at during our eight grade camp.' She confirms. 'It covers a much larger area than just the camp, but I assume the campsite only uses up about half of the farm. The rest is still old harvest fields.”

“Why would there be a map of that farm in the book?” I ask, looking at the others. “Unless there’s something there.”

Rosetta looks at me skeptically. “Like what? A hidden treasure?”

She stands up. “Look guys, this is silly. Why don’t we just drop this whole thing and go on with our lives. That book and map has nothing to do with us.”

“So what? You just want us to throw it in the dustbin and act like nothing ever happened?” Leigh asks unbelievably.

“Yes.” Rosetta answers with a casual tone. “What’s so wrong with that?”

Leigh doesn’t answer, but her eyes are drowning in fury.

“Why don’t we just check it out?” I suggest, my eyes shifting between Rosetta and Leigh. “What damage can it actually do? We have nothing else to do tomorrow.”

Marilyn nods in agreement. “But what would we be looking for? Does the map mark a specific place?”

Everyone stares at Leigh as she examines the map once again. She looks up in amazement. “As a matter of fact, it does.” We walk closer for a better view and she points at a small red circle, situated in a large building near the river.

“So we go check out?” Leigh asks, looking up at us and putting her hand out in front of her.

Marilyn and I put our hands on Leigh’s and the three of us gaze at Rosetta, who after giving a heavy sigh, also places her hand on top of ours. Leigh smiles at me and I can see that excitement is bursting through her veins.